The Smothers Brothers Show
Tom and Dick Smothers, 1965
GenreFantasy sitcom
Created byAaron Spelling[1]
Richard Newton
Written byDee Caruso
Gerald Gardner
Lila Garrett
Alex Gottlieb
Bernie Kahn
Arnold Margolin
Jim Parker
Arthur Weingarten
Allan Burns (uncredited)
Chris Hayward (uncredited)
Directed byCharles Barton
Frederick De Cordova
Sidney Miller
H. Bruce Humberstone
StarringSmothers Brothers
Theme music composerPerry Botkin Jr.
ComposerPerry Botkin Jr.
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes32 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerAaron Spelling
ProducersFrederick De Cordova
Phil Sharp (uncredited)
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companyFour Star-Knave
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 17, 1965 (1965-09-17) –
April 22, 1966 (1966-04-22)

The Smothers Brothers Show is an American fantasy sitcom featuring the Smothers Brothers that aired on CBS on Friday nights at 9:30 p.m. ET from September 17, 1965, to April 22, 1966, co-sponsored by Alberto-Culver's VO5 hairdressing products and American Tobacco's Tareyton cigarettes. It was the first television show to feature the Smothers Brothers as regulars, following a series of night club and guest appearances.[2] It lasted one season, consisting of 32 episodes.

It was the network's last situation comedy filmed in black-and-white; shortly after its final telecast, all CBS prime-time series were transmitted in color.[3] In 1986, two decades after cancellation, reruns were seen on Nick at Nite.[4]

Synopsis

Dick Smothers played himself as a rising young executive at Pandora Publications, working for publisher Leonard J. Costello (Roland Winters). Brother Tom had been lost at sea two years earlier and now shows up as an apprentice angel assigned to do good deeds on Earth to earn his wings and become a full-fledged angel. Of course, Tom's efforts to help people never seem to work as planned and Dick had to help him clean up the mess. Tom received his orders from Ralph, his unseen and unheard boss. The series also featured Harriet MacGibbon as Mrs. Costello, and on occasion, Ann Elder as Dick's co-worker and girlfriend, Janet. Eileen O'Neill also appeared in several episodes as another of Dick's girlfriends, Wanda. As was typical of the Smothers Brothers in The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Dick was typically the straight man to Tom's humorous antics.

Creative control struggles

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The series was produced by Four Star Television in association with the brothers' Knave Productions (named for Tom's catchphrase "Curb Your Tongue, Knave!" and the title of their 1963 record album).

This series may have inspired the Brothers' more successful later series The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in that Tom Smothers had been critical of the series as not being compatible with the brothers' strengths (in fact, he fought with Four Star executives over more creative control of the series, earning an ulcer and irritating his marital relationship to the point of divorce at the end of the season).

For instance, neither brother played their instruments on the show (with one exception, at the beginning of "'Twas The Week Before Christmas" episode), and it was not until halfway through the season that they sang the theme song.

Episodes

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No.TitleOriginal air date
1"There's Something About a Sailor"September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17)
2"Take a Tramp to Lunch This Week"September 24, 1965 (1965-09-24)
3"A Boarding House Is Not a Home"October 1, 1965 (1965-10-01)
4"Is Your Wig Wam?"October 8, 1965 (1965-10-08)
5"Pay the Man the $27.95"October 15, 1965 (1965-10-15)
6"Tear Out the Presses, Stop the Front Page"October 22, 1965 (1965-10-22)
7"You're Only Old Once"October 29, 1965 (1965-10-29)
8"I Wouldn't Miss My Own Funeral for Anything"November 5, 1965 (1965-11-05)
9"Halo in the Ring"November 12, 1965 (1965-11-12)
10"It Don't Mean a Dang if It Ain't Got That Twang"November 19, 1965 (1965-11-19)
11"Boys Will Be Playboys"November 26, 1965 (1965-11-26)
12"Immaterial Witness"December 3, 1965 (1965-12-03)
13"Here Comes the Bridegroom"December 10, 1965 (1965-12-10)
14"'Twas the Week Before Christmas"December 17, 1965 (1965-12-17)
15"Happiness Is a Guy Named Happy"December 24, 1965 (1965-12-24)
16"The Rise and Fall of the Wedding Cake"December 31, 1965 (1965-12-31)
17"Outside Inside Hollywood"January 7, 1966 (1966-01-07)
18"The Hawaiian Caper"January 14, 1966 (1966-01-14)
19"Never Trust a Naked Rembrandt"January 21, 1966 (1966-01-21)
20"Harried, Italian Style"January 28, 1966 (1966-01-28)
21"The Big Newsboy War"February 4, 1966 (1966-02-04)
22"We'd Rather Switch Than Fight"February 11, 1966 (1966-02-11)
23"The Ghost Is Clear"February 18, 1966 (1966-02-18)
24"Heaven Help the Dropout"February 25, 1966 (1966-02-25)
25"His Honor, the Crook"March 4, 1966 (1966-03-04)
26"Her Number Is 36-22-35"March 11, 1966 (1966-03-11)
27"The Girl from R.A.L.P.H."March 18, 1966 (1966-03-18)
28"The Boss Who Came to Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner"March 25, 1966 (1966-03-25)
29"How to Succeed in Business and Be Really Trying"April 1, 1966 (1966-04-01)
30"I'm in Love with a Mortal"April 8, 1966 (1966-04-08)
31"A Wolf in Sheik's Clothing"April 15, 1966 (1966-04-15)
32"Wash You Were Here"April 22, 1966 (1966-04-22)

References

  1. ^ Spelling, Aaron; Graham, Jefferson (2002). Aaron Spelling: A Prime-Time Life. Macmillan p. 54. ISBN 978-0-3123-1344-9.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ McKairnes, Jim (January 31, 2017). "50-year flashback: The rebellious 'Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'". USA Today. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  3. ^ Dalton, Mary M.; Linder, Laura R. (2016). The Sitcom Reader, Second Edition: America Re-viewed, Still Skewed. SUNY Press p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4384-6131-1.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Mendoza, N. F. (June 25, 1995). "Nick's Nites to Remember". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 9, 2019.

External links

The Smothers Brothers
Works produced by Aaron Spelling
Categories